A ‘heartless’ man was seen apparently dumping a homeless person’s possessions in the middle of a busy city centre street.

Shocked passers-by watched on as the man threw items believed to belong to a rough sleeper on the road on Deansgate for ‘no reason whatsoever’ on Sunday at around 2pm.

He was snapped by stunned witnesses, some of whom stepped in to try to stop him.

The man was later seen talking to police. It is understood he was banned from the city centre following the incident.

Footage of the incident shows the man walking into the road, carrying a tarpaulin and sleeping bags, among other items.

He is seen leaving them in the middle of the street, with buses and cars having to swerve into the opposite lane to avoid the pile of belongings - understood to belong to a homeless person sleeping in a nearby shop doorway.

The man was seen remonstrating with a number of passers-by, with some angry at his ‘heartless’ act.

One image shows people ‘wrestling’ with the man as he started dragging items onto the road.

The man was later banned from the city centre after being spoken to by police.

One witness told the M.E.N: “This absolutely vile human being took it upon himself to throw a homeless lad’s stuff in the road for no reason whatsoever.

“He carried on throwing it in the road until police arrived. It takes a heartless man to do this to somebody’s belongings, someone who sleeps rough in this weather.

“Thanks to him, their sleeping bags are ripped, dog biscuits scattered on the pavement and waterproof plastic sheets torn to shreds.

“Luckily, a few other kind-hearted Mancunians stepped in to help try and stop him, but due to his age, physically stopping him didn’t seem an option.

“He was let go by the police, smiling and whistling.”

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said the man was given a direction to leave - a dispersal order - and will not be allowed in the city centre for a specified amount of time.

Officers, he added, could take no further action as no-one made a specific complaint of a crime.